Trauma care in Sub-Saharan Africa: challenges and opportunities in Botswana and Tanzania for implementing Afrocentric systems.

Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Summary available in PDF

Gastrointestinal endoscopy at Amana Municipal Referral Hospital in Tanzania: reasons for referral and findings

Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy is a medical procedure for visualizing and treating diseases in the upper gastrointestinal tract. It is useful in the surveillance, diagnosis and treatment of acute conditions such as gastrointestinal haemorrhages, benign, malignancies or inflammatory conditions. Because of unavailability of specialist doctors, open access endoscopy referral system is the main system practiced in Tanzania. This study was carried out to investigate the appropriateness of referrals for endoscopy and to determine the endoscopic findings at Amana Municipal Referral Hospital in Tanzania. This cross-sectional study was carried out from March 2010 to June 2011 involved patients referred for endoscopy. Demographic characteristics, reasons for referral and endoscopic findings were recorded for each patient. A total of 393 patients were involved in the study. The mean age of the study subjects was 47.3±17.4 years. The main reasons for referral were epigastric pain (57%), vomiting blood (23%) and difficult in swallowing (20%). The most common endoscopic findings were gastritis (57.2%), oesophagitis (10.2%) and gastric tumours (6.5%). The main reasons for endoscopy referrals at Amana Municipal Referral Hospital are epigastric pain, difficult in swallowing and vomiting blood. The normal endoscopy findings observed falls within normal range. These findings are important for further development of the endoscopy unit, for streamlining services, training of the required skills, and for planning

Risks, precipitants and clinical presentation of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease at the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre in Tanzania

Introduction: Risk factors and precipitants of gastro-oesophageal disease (GERD) differ widely in  communities. We conducted an observational study to describe these risks, precipitants and clinical  presentation of GERD patients at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) in Tanzania.Methods: We consecutively recruited 92 GERD patients who were referred for endoscopy at KCMC from March to November 2008. By using structured questionnaire we enquired: risk factors, precipitants and symptoms of GERD and upper gastrointestinal endoscopic findings. Their upper gastrointestinal  endoscopic findings were as well documented.Results: The mean (± SD) age of the study population was 47.32 (±17) years. Reported symptoms  included water brash (37%), dyspepsia (6%), chronic cough (11%) and hemoptysis (5%). More than half (56%) of the patients surveyed identified food precipitants for their GERD symptoms. Triggers of GERD symptoms were boiled beans 19%, spicy food 11%, sour/fermented meals 10%, roasted tomato 9%,  silver cyprinid fish (dagaa) 5%, beans with cooked green banana (matoke) 2% and fermented milk 1%.  Most of the studied patients had normal body mass index (52%), and 25% admitted to be consuming  alcohol though they didn’t associate it with their GERD symptoms. The most common endoscopy finding was “loose lower oesophageal sphincter” (85%).Conclusion: Most GERD patients referred for endoscopy at KCMC were found to have water brash and  “loose lower oesophageal sphincters” as described by endoscopists to denote mechanical abnormality of the lower oesophageal sphincter. GERD symptoms were precipitated by common locally available food and spices.Key words: GERD, precipitating food, risk factors, loose lower ooesophageal sphincter, upper  gastrointestinal endoscopy

Asthma Prevalence, Knowledge, and Perceptions among Secondary School Pupils in Rural and Urban Costal Districts in Tanzania.

Asthma is a common chronic disease of childhood that is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of asthma among secondary school pupils in urban and rural areas of coast districts of Tanzania. The study also aimed to describe pupils' perception towards asthma, and to assess their knowledge on symptoms, triggers, and treatment of asthma. A total of 610 pupils from Ilala district and 619 pupils from Bagamoyo district formed the urban and rural groups, respectively. Using a modified International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire, a history of "diagnosed" asthma or the presence of a wheeze in the previous 12 months was obtained from all the studied pupils, along with documentation of their perceptions regarding asthma. Pupils without asthma or wheeze in the prior 12 months were subsequently selected and underwent a free running exercise testing. A >= 20% decrease in the post-exercise Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR) values was the criterion for diagnosing exercise-induced asthma. The mean age of participants was 16.8 (+/-1.8) years. The prevalence of wheeze in the past 12 months was 12.1% in Bagamoyo district and 23.1% in Ilala district (p < 0.001). Self-reported asthma was found in 17.6% and 6.4% of pupils in Ilala and Bagamoyo districts, respectively (p < 0.001). The prevalence of exercise-induced asthma was 2.4% in Bagamoyo, and 26.3% in Ilala (P < 0.002). In both districts, most information on asthma came from parents, and there was variation in symptoms and triggers of asthma reported by the pupils. Non-asthmatic pupils feared sleeping, playing, and eating with their asthmatic peers. The prevalence rates of self-reported asthma, wheezing in the past 12 months, and exercise-induced asthma were significantly higher among urban than rural pupils. Although bronchial asthma is a common disease, pupils' perceptions about asthma were associated with fear of contact with their asthmatic peers in both rural and urban schools

Survey on worldwide trauma team activation requirement

PURPOSE : trauma team activation (TTA) is thought to be essential for advanced and specialized care of very severely injured patients. However, non-specific TTA criteria may result in overtriage that consumes valuable resources or endanger patients in need of TTA secondary to undertriage. Consequently, criterion standard definitions to calculate the accuracy of the various TTA protocols are required for research and quality assurance purposes. Recently, several groups suggested a list of conditions when a trauma team is considered to be essential in the initial care in the emergency room. The objective of the survey was to post hoc identify trauma-related conditions that are thought to require a specialized trauma team that may be widely accepted, independent from the country’s income level. METHODS : A set of questions was developed, centered around the level of agreement with the proposed post hoc criteria to define adequate trauma team activation. The participants gave feedback before they answered the survey to improve the quality of the questions. The finalized survey was conducted using an online tool and a word form. The income per capita of a country was rated according to the World Bank Country and Lending groups. RESULTS : The return rate was 76% with a total of 37 countries participating. The agreement with the proposed criteria to define post hoc correct requirements for trauma team activation was more than 75% for 12 of the 20 criteria. The rate of disagreement was low and varied between zero and 13%. The level of agreement was independent from the country’s level of income. CONCLUSIONS : The agreement on criteria to post hoc define correct requirements for trauma team activation appears high and it may be concluded that the proposed criteria could be useful for most countries, independent from their level of income. Nevertheless, more discussions on an international level appear to be warranted to achieve a full consensus to define a universal set of criteria that will allow for quality assessment of over- and undertriage of trauma team activation as well as for the validation of field triage criteria for the most severely injured patients worldwide.http://link.springer.com/journal/68am2022Surger

Prophylactic antibiotics to prevent surgical site infections in Botswana: findings and implications.

Antibiotic prophylaxis in surgery is known to reduce the rate of surgical site infections (SSI) as well as shorten hospital stay. However, there is currently a scarcity of data on antibiotic prophylaxis and SSIs among African countries including Botswana. Consequently, this study aimed to address this.A prospective study involving 400 patients was carried out at a leading tertiary hospital in Botswana from 2014-2015. Patients' demographic information, type of surgery performed and peri-operative use of antibiotics were documented. All enrolled patients were followed-up for 30 days post discharge to fully document the incidence of SSIs.Median age of patients was 35.5 (25 - 50) years, with 52% female. There were 35.8% emergency and 64.2% elective surgeries. The most common operations were exploratory laparotomy (25%), appendectomy (18.3%), excision, and mastectomy (8%). Antibiotics were given in 73.3% of patients, mainly postoperatively (58.3%). The most commonly prescribed antibiotics were cefotaxime (80.7%), metronidazole (63.5%), cefradine (13.6%) and amoxicillin/clavulanate (11.6%). The incidence of SSI was 9%. The most common organisms were Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and coagulase-negative staphylococci.The rate of SSI is a concern, and may be related to inappropriate antibiotic prophylaxis given post operatively. Interventions are in place to decrease SSI rates to acceptable levels in this leading hospital by improving for instance infection prevention practices including the timing of antibiotic prophylaxis. Research is also ongoing among other hospitals in Botswana to reduce SSI rates building on these findings

Organised trauma systems and designated trauma centres for improving outcomes in injured patients

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Intervention). The objectives are as follows: To assess the effects of organised trauma systems and designated trauma centres for improving outcomes in injured patients, specifically patient outcomes and adverse effects or harms.Published versio

Non-communicable diseases in antiretroviral therapy recipients in Kagera Tanzania

Abstract Introduction: The aim of this study was to describe the extent of self-reported non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among highly activ